Nothing Compares to You
What Sinead O'Connor Means to Us
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- $20.99
Publisher Description
An intimate and evocative celebration of the life and legacy of music and political icon Sinéad O’Connor, featuring writers including Neko Case, Sinéad Gleeson, Rayne Fisher-Quann, Porochista Khakpour, and more.
More than thirty years ago, Sinéad O’Connor shocked the world by tearing up a photo of Pope John Paul II in an act of protest against the violence perpetrated by the Catholic Church. This single act cemented O’Connor’s place as a fearless voice and activist that would later push even further as Sinead became an advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness, the LGBTQ+ community, and abortion rights. Here in Nothing Compares to You, a renowned and multi-generational group of women and non-binary authors come together to pay tribute to O’Connor’s impact on our world and in their own lives and development as humans and artists.
Nothing Compares to You is a loving and accessible reconsideration and entry point for understanding the Irish icon. Exploring themes such as gender identity, spirituality, artistic expression, and personal transformation, this collection shows that Sinead’s voice continues to ring on even after her death and brilliantly illustrates the power of creative expression to inspire far beyond any presumed lines of age, culture, or class.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Huber (Voice First), an associate professor of creative writing at Fairfield University, and essayist Bayne (The Chicago Neighborhood Guidebook) assemble an eclectic tribute to Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O'Connor, who died in 2023. How O'Connor's feminism influenced the book's contributors is a major through line. For example, novelist Zoe Zolbrod recalls discovering O'Connor's music in college, when the musician's decision to shave her head in response to "her record label's plan to market her as a pretty girl" inspired Zolbrod and her friends to enact their own forms of "bodily protest" ("One after another, women showed up at the house with shorn heads, rubbing their palms over their stubbly scalps for the sensual pleasure"). NPR journalist Allyson McCabe positions O'Connor as a truth-teller who was open about being abused by her mother, while essayist Myriam Gurba intriguingly reframes O'Connor's relationship to religion and ethics, noting that despite the musician's take-no-prisoners image, she was "generous with both apologies and forgiveness. She understood the velocity of grace... how it could move between two people." While many of the essays focus on the same incidents—including O'Connor's famous 1992 SNL performance, during which she tore up a photograph of Pope John Paul II—the book's varied registers (some lyrical, others analytical) ensure that the perspective is never repetitive, and the composite effectively reveals the intimate ways in which an artist can shape her listeners' lives. The result is a vivid and multifaceted ode to a trailblazing musician.
